A friendship exchange was held in Hanoi on June 10 by the Vietnam-Sweden Friendship Association, the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam and the Sweden Alumni Association on the occasion of Sweden’s Mid-summer Day.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-Sweden Friendship Association Dinh Tich said the event aimed to give Vietnamese a chance to learn about one of the most important festivals of the Scandinavian country.

He expressed the hope that the event will also help enhance the cooperation between his association and the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam.

The Vice Chairman announced that the Vietnam-Sweden Friendship Association will collaborate with the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam and the Sweden Alumni Association to hold activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic ties in 2019.

Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam said Midsummer Day is the most anticipated festival for Swedish people. On the occasion, people don traditional costumes and gather to sing and dance, and join in traditional games.

Sweden was the first Western European nation to set up relations with Vietnam. It is now Vietnam’s important economic partner in North Europe with annual two-way trade revenue exceeding 1.2 billion USD. In the first nine months of this year, the figure stood at more than 1 billion USD, up 16 percent year-on-year.